The safety of our drinking water is of utmost importance to all of us in this industry of water purveyors. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Maine Drinking Water Program set standards for water quality and enforce the rules and regulations governing our drinking water.

When utilities make changes to water treatment, it’s usually because they’re driven by new or upcoming standards, in part due to advancing technology that lets us measure contaminants to lower and lower levels. Also, careful research can help determine the health effects of contaminants, how they get into our environment, and the levels that might be harmful.

All standards are set at levels that ensure a very low risk from exposure in drinking water. Because we are exposed in our day-to-day lives to contaminants found in our food, air, soil, and the products we consume, our drinking water is strictly regulated to keep our exposure as low as possible.

Lake Auburn is a special lake. There are less than 60 surface water supplies in our country that do not filter the water. Lake Auburn is one of them. We have many restrictions on the recreational use of our lake. Working hard to keep contamination out of Lake Auburn is a priority partly because we do not filter it. Another reason for the restrictions is the ever-present fact of development pressures. In fact, we’d impose restrictions even if we filtered the water. Remember: It’s much less expensive and risky to treat clean water than polluted water.

The most harmful contaminants to keep out of Lake Auburn are human-to-human diseases. That is why body contact with the water is not permitted. Typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis, and cholera are examples of water-transmitted diseases that have led to serious illness and death. To further ensure that the water is free of such organisms, we disinfect it with chlorine and chloramines and now ultraviolet light. By both keeping people out of the water and disinfecting it, we’ve kept the risk of contracting a disease from Lake Auburn’s treated drinking water at an extremely low level.

Protecting Lake Auburn takes a lot of work, and we measure our success by testing the water to ensure its safety as a drinking water source. Also, since we add chemicals to finish the water, we monitor those treatments as well. We test the water continuously (24-7) for most of our chemicals. We also check it weekly throughout Lewiston and Auburn, and we test the streams that deliver water to the lake and many locations in the lake itself.

Thanks to agricultural and commercial activities in our watershed, we also test for certain chemicals. For instance, some farmers use herbicides and pesticides on their crops. Based on what the farmers tell us about that usage, we check the water for them. We also test for gasoline products and MTBE, a gasoline additive that could harm water quality, since roads are close to our lake and we do allow small recreational boats on the water.

We test the untreated water in the lake and in the tributaries feeding Lake Auburn for bacteria such as E.coli and certain protozoans such as Giardia and Cryptosporiduim. We also test the untreated water for nutrients that include phosphorus and nitrogen compounds. Other indicators of pollution — such as chlorophyll and algae, secchi disk (clarity), conductivity, dissolved oxygen and organic compounds — are routinely monitored. We also gather samples for historical databases that include color, pH and temperature measurements. We even search the waters for invasive plants and animals such as Eurasian milfoil and some species of fish, crayfish, snails and mussels that could harm the delicate ecosystems keeping our lake healthy.

We test the water as we are treating it with chlorine, corrosion inhibitors that keep your household plumbing pipes from leaching lead and copper, and fluoride to keep levels in proper balance for optimum effect to prevent tooth decay. In-line (24-7) monitors measure the levels of chlorine, fluoride, pH, and temperature. Computers record the data continuously and are connected to alarms to ensure that all systems are working properly.

You may have seen us in the Twin Cities collecting samples. We test the water throughout the distribution systems to be sure it’s safe and within optimum levels for maximum benefit. We check the water in our storage tanks as well to make sure it’s kept fresh. When new water mains are installed, we check the pipes before they go into service. Some water pipes are older and may have to be replaced, so we keep track of those areas.

Water quality data are crucial and tell the story of how the water, our processes, our operations, and planning are working. Data can also predict degradation and improvement, which is important for regulators and water operators who monitor our drinking water.

So that’s how we will continue to make sure you have safe drinking water.

Copy the Story Link